The Positive Bracelet

I was sitting with my friend yesterday, whose new goal in her life is to stay positive. Which sounds easy enough, but it's actually much harder than it sounds. But attitude is everything, and the mind can be so influential on how we feel, and how we respond to situations. I know that when my mind isn't right, my life isn't right, and how my body feels isn't right.

So my friend, in an effort to be proactive in following through with her new motto is using a bracelet. Yes, a bracelet. She moves it from one wrist to the other depending on where she's at mentally and emotionally. So often when our head isn't right and it's got us down, there is no way for people to actually know that we're not feeling well. But this bracelet is a way to physically show, I'm not okay right now, and people around her, her friends and family, can respond accordingly. But that's only one part of the purpose of the bracelet. The second is how she can stay on course with her motto. It's okay to have to move the bracelet from one wrist to the other- we're all allowed to have bad days- but she snaps it against her wrist, telling herself how grateful she is. I have a headache: I have people around me to help pick up the slack when I have to lie down and rest. Snap. I have a cold/sick: I may be hacking up a lung, but I've got air in my lungs. Snap. My kids are running around crazy and making so much noise: I am blessed to have children, and they're happy. Snap. My house is a disaster: I have a roof over my head. Snap.

The list goes on.

Every time we turn our negative into a positive, we're training our brains to respond that way naturally. It takes lots of practice.

The Mayo Clinic reports so many health benefits when we can change that negative talk into something positive:

• Increased life span
• Lower rates of depression
• Lower levels of distress
• Greater resistance to the common cold 
• Better psychological and physical well-being
• Better cardiovascular health
• Better coping skills for hardships and stressful situations

I encourage all of you, myself included, to take a breath when we're overwhelmed, stressed, or in distress and then take a look at the big picture- how is our mind responding to our situations, and how can we create counter thoughts to fight that negativity?

And in other news... passed 45,000 words in my manuscript! 

Happy Sunday!